The C6 is a triumph of automotive engineering and style. The
factory design boy’s did a fantastic job in making the C6 a true work
of rolling art. That being said there is no reason we cannot improve on
things just a bit. We decided to start our exterior design improvement
project on our victory red 09 ZO6. The Z has been serving as our latest
project car and we thought it would make a good test bed for some
exterior body mods.

The one place that any C6 needs some help with is
at the rear end. Specifically the stubby little protrusion that
pretends to be a spoiler. What was GM thinking? GM does have a remedy
for this design error. They offer what is known as the “full width
racing spoiler”. The spoiler was part of a dealer installed option on the Ron Fellows
edition ZO6.

One
of the best sources that we have found for quality OEM GM parts is GM
Partshouse located in Boyertown PA. Gene Cully the founder of GM
Parts House can often be found giving technical advice on many of the
Corvette Forums. He is part of a great team that ensures that you will
get the correct part at the lowest price. Stock parts usually ship out
the same day they get your order. You can find them at www.gmpartshouse.com or phone them at 484-949-2099.

OK, enough of the small talk lets get down to the nitty gritty
of installing one of these babies. The spoiler arrived about three days
after we ordered it, talk about fast. It was housed in two bullet proof
boxes and wrapped in a fabric sock that ensured it would survive the
cross country trip. The package included installation instructions,
mounting hardware and a cut out template that is used for marking the
four spots on the rear fascia that needed to be drilled.

Drilled! "What
are you crazy drilling holes into an eighty thousand dollar car"?
That’s one of the comments we got from one of the disbelievers in the
back office. We did toy with the idea of using 3M double sided tape to
install the spoiler. The stuff usually holds very well under a variety
of conditions. Another plus in using tape is that you are not married
to the item being taped down.

The problem in this type of installation
is that there is not really enough bearing surface between the spoiler
and the top of the rear fascia under the spoiler. If you want to do a
tape installation you will have to install several layers of tape under
the stud mounting surfaces and at the ends of the spoiler. If you use
too much tape there will be a gap, if you use too little tape the
spoiler may separate from the body after being exposed to the elements.
After some serious debating between the drilling and taping teams we
decided to “drill baby drill”.

The first step in the installation is removing the taillights. Using a ratchet and a T-15 torx socket the lights pop right out.

Here is a picture we thought you might find interesting, it's a shot of the interior of the rear fascia.

After
removing the tail light reach into one of the tail light openings and
feel the mounting studs that retain the stock spoiler. If you don’t
have gorilla hands you will need a 10mm socket to loosen and remove
them. One word of caution, do not drop the studs into the rear assembly
as you will never see them again if you do.

After removing the four mounting studs lift the stock spoiler and disconnect the electrical weather pack.

The
next step involves removing the studs and light from the stock spoiler.
Take the stock spoiler to your work bench and remove the studs. We used
pliers but realized after the fact that a 4mm socket will fit right
over the top of the stud and is a much easier way to go.

Remove the light assembly from the spoiler

After
removing the mounting studs install the supplied tinnerman clips and
small mounting studs on the four outermost locations on the new
spoiler.

The
next step involves installing the tail light into the new spoiler.
Place the new spoiler on a flat surface making sure you protect it. Lay
it on top of the box it came in to prevent scratching. Place the light
assembly into the opening and secure it to the new spoiler with two
screws that are supplied with the installation kit.

This
is where reading the instructions really come in handy. The know it
alls in the shop never read the installation instructions. In this case
they installed the two stock mounting studs to secure the light to the
new spoiler. All went well until it came time to place the new spoiler
on the rear fascia. Guess what, it wouldn’t fit. The stock mounting
studs when used to secure the light will not allow for a flush spoiler
to body fit.

After properly installing the light in the spoiler cut out
the paper mounting template that was supplied. Place the cut out
template on the rear fascia and align the center mark as shown in the
instructions. Make sure you line up the edge of the template with the
edge of the body panel.

Now
for the fun part. After double checking that the template is properly
aligned with the fascia edge and the center of the electrical connector
opening you are ready to drill some holes. Once you have summoned up
the courage put a 1/8” bit in your electric drill and locate the
drilling points on the template. Place the drill squarely on the
template mark and go for it. The fascia material is very soft and the
drill will penetrate it almost instantaneously. Repeat this agonizing
step for that other three marked locations. These are just pilot
holes as you will have to re chuck the drill with a 7mm bit for the
final holes. Using the larger drill bit enlarge the pilot holes. You
can now remove the paper template.

Now
for more fun. The instructions call for an enlargement of the
electrical connector hole. This is necessary in order to allow the
weather pack connector to properly seat with the light connector in the
new spoiler. We used a dremel tool with a cutting wheel attachment to
trim the material off the fascia. As mentioned the fascia material is
very soft and you could probably cut it with a very sharp knife with a
serrated blade. Trim off about a ¼ “of material and the horror is
behind you.

Remove
the backing from the preinstalled double sided tape on the middle and
ends of the spoiler. Align the studs in new spoiler with the holes on
the top of the fascia. Lower the spoiler and reconnect the electrical
weatherpac connector to the light assembly. After the spoiler is flush
with the fascia reach into the taillight openings and fasten the
spoiler to the mounting studs.